Quadro Nuevo

Though based in Germany, acoustic jazz quartet Quadro Nuevo devoted its creative energies to resurrecting the fading musical traditions of Europe as a whole, in particular embracing the tango. Guitarist Robert Wolf, reedist Mulo Francel, accordionist Andreas Hinterseher, and bassist D.D. Lowka co-founded Quadro Nuevo in Salzburg in 1996. Originally commissioned to write and produce film music for the Austrian broadcaster ORF, the four musicians immediately bonded over their eclectic musical backgrounds and shared affection for nostalgia, and in the decade to follow they played more than 1,500 live dates across the continent, forging an alchemical acoustic sound from elements of flamenco, Balkan swing, traditional folk, and avant-garde improvisation. Issuing their debut album, Luna Rossa, in 1998, Quadro Nuevo enjoyed their commercial breakthrough six years later with their fifth LP, Mocca Flor, which topped the German world music charts while rising to number three on the national jazz countdown. Tango Bitter Sweet followed in 2007. In 2008, the group released three albums: Cine Passion, a collection of movie themes, the holiday album Weihnacht and Antakya, a collection of folk and dance songs. They hit the road hard in the aftermath. That November a car hit their tour bus at high speed. Guitarist Robert Wolf was seriously injured and paralyzed from the neck down. He never played again and passed away in 2015 due to complications from his injuries. Harpist Evelyn Huber and pianist Chris Gall filled his spot. In 2009, Quadro Nuevo contributed to the album Italienische Reise, with lyrics by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Ulrich Tukur, Ulrike Kriener, and Frank T. Zumbach. In 2010 and 2011, they won The Echo, the German Phono Academy’s highest distinction in the category Jazz/World Music, Best Live Act. Over the next several years, they played everywhere from Sidney, Australia to Montreal, Ottawa, from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul, from New York to Mexico City, from Peking, Seoul, and Singapore, to Tunis, Tel Aviv, and the Baltics. They issued In Concert in 2012, and followed it with End of the Rainbow with the NDR Pops Orchestra and another holiday-themed collection, Bethlehem. In 2014, they issued the conceptual “audiobook” Lieben Sie Tango? with assistance from actors/narrators Dominic Raacke and Caroline Ebner. In 2014, they recorded Tango in Buenos Aries, and issued it the following year. In 2016, they collaborated with Münchner Symphoniker for Music for Christmas Nights, and in 2017, with the German-Egyptian collective Cairo Steps on Flying Carpet. ~ Jason Ankeny